Using Pro Combat for Good, Not Evil -- Part II(I)

By Phil Hecken, on January 16th, 2011

By Phil Hecken

And now, for the final eight pro combat teams in the AFC. If you missed the NFC or the first half of the AFC, check ’em out. The short versions of the writeups are below, and the more detailed writeups can be found here. This week we go in alpha order from the Chiefs to the Titans.

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Kansas City Chiefs:Home, Road 1 & Road 2. Chiefs don’t see much of a change, and why should they, in the 2012 pro combat world. Uni is kept largely in tact but for the comp sleeves, which make full use of proper stripage.

Miami Dolphins:Home & Road. The fish (and yes, I know a Dolphin is a mammal) get a bit of a retro-treatment, ditching the completely unnecessary drop shadow and reverting to a sort of cross between the early Marino years and the Super Bowl seasons. Basically left this classic alone.

New England Patriots:Home, Road 1 & Road 2. Of all the unis I’ve done, this is the one with which I am the least happy. I didn’t want to put the Pats back in red, so instead I opted for a blue version of the current throwback, which was probably a mistake. I hate their current unis, but I probably could just have tweaked those instead of farting around with a new uni that bears no resemblance (other than a color swap) to anything they’ve worn in the past. I’ll definitely be redoing this one at some point.

New York Jets:Home & Road. Now this one I love. Better the Jets should try to throwback to the days of Namath, Schmitt & Maynard than Todd & Lam Jones. This one was tough to “work” with the pro combat, but I’m pretty happy with how this evokes the feel of the Super Bowl uniforms.

Oakland Raiders:Home & Road. Until Al Davis dies (he’s still alive, right?) the Raiders won’t really ever change. So pro combat is just a natural extention of their current sets. The only change was to give the roads throwback numbers, via the black outline around a silver number.

Pittsburgh Steelers:Home & Road. I seriously debated putting the Steelers in a gold lid…and white pants…for about 10 seconds. But really, there’s no more appropriate uni for Steeltown than basically what they have now. I had to get rid of the stupid “slash” font (which Nike introduced), and which purports to match the front helmet numbers, and return them to the varsity block font of the Swan-Bradshaw-Harris (and so many others) days. They never should have gone away from that look — and now it’s back. Comp sleeves work perfectly with their striping pattern, which now looks like complete garbage. It’s a perfect marriage.

San Diego Chargers:Home & Road. When most people think of the Chargers, they think navy, white, gold and/or powder. But there was a time in the 1960s when the Bolts wore a color closer to royal, and Lance Alworth (among others) did it proud. This is what this set is attempting to recreate. There’s nothing really attractive about the Chargers current set, other than the powder alts, but the new lightning and the new age fonts just don’t do it. This is how they should begin 2012.

Tenneseee Titans:Home, Road 1 & Road 2. The Titans biggest mistake was not keeping more of their Oiler heritage, leading to their current uni mess. This new-for-2012 uni takes the two (IMHO) best elements from the old Oiler days, but keeps the current logo on the helmet — the original font (looks great, even today) and the perfectly matched striping they had during their Earl Campbell days. Helmet, sleeve, pants — whether on powder or white — it was always perfectly aligned. Not every team should do this (although my OCD would be soothed), but the Titans really should. Man, I really like this one as well. Oh yeah — Love Ya, Blue!

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OK — that’s it for the pro combat concepts (until I start fixing stuff and doing alternates, of course). But seriously, I thank you all for indulging me these past three weekends with my own sets of tweaks. I still think that, if done well (and if the teams, not the Nike designers, dictate the terms), pro combat can really bring out some tremendous looks for the NFL in 2012. The “Ricko comp sleeve conceptâ„¢” is something that is such the perfect answer to today’s disappearing sleeves — and it could also genereate some serious extra revenue, since they could simply sell the compression shirts (in short, 3/4ths and full length sleeve) as a supplemental item. Seriously, it’s a no-brainer.

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Colorize This!

Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.

Didn’t run a “Colorize This!” last weekend, but we did have that wonderful spot with George Chilvers, who was kind enough to share all of his tips and techniques. Prior to that, I had posted three photos I had hoped you guys might take a crack at: Colts Kickoff, Giants vs. Steelers, and of course, the Marines vs. Army photo from Shorpy that George colorized so beautifully. However, I only got one taker (Michael Ferry) who took on the Colts & Giants vs. Steelers. We’ll take a look at those in a minute.

However, I did get some unsolicited (well, that’s not the right term, since I did solicit B&W’s which you folks have colorized — more like “off the board”) submissions.

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Jeff Barak, who runs the Third String Goalie blog, sent me a bunch of his hockey colorizations. Jeff says, “Quite often I am unable to find color photos of a particular day’s featured jersey and I have developed a format to colorize just the jersey to make it stand out from the photo and admittedly save me some time since I am usually working on my blog late the night before that entry posts the next morning.” Here’s a few of his efforts:

I took on colorizing the holy grail of baseball cards, theT206 Honus Wagner. The b&w image attached was the actual photo-proof used by American Tobacco Company to produce the most sought after baseball card that is currently worth in excess of two million dollars.

And now, back to the Colts & Giants/Steelers. Michael Ferry took them both on. Here’s his take on the Colts Kickoff and the Giants vs. Steelers. Great job, Michael.

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Since that’s all I received, I’m hoping that’s only because these last few were difficult, and the holidays kept everyone busy. So, I won’t provide any new b & w’s this week, but if anyone wants to take their shot(s) at the three earlier photos, please do so. As always, if you folks have any killer B&W’s you think would make for good colorizations, please send them my way, or if you have any colorizations you’ve already done, I’d love to see them and post them as well. Of course, send everything directly to me.

Happy colorizing, and I’ll be back with some new B&W’s soon.

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5 & 1 – Final 17 Bowl Edition

We’re just about done with Mr. Mothersunbowlker’s 5 & 1’s for this season, and he’s about to give us his wrap up of the final 17 bowls. If you really care about the first 18 bowl 5 & 1, you can click here and scroll down.

I haven’t looked to see what’s coming, but I can guarantee on thing — Oregon and Auburn won’t be on there. And that’s actually fine by me, since the U of Zero didn’t come close to approximating some of their better unis of the season. Let’s see what he did pick:

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Honorable Mention to the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin/TCU — Frogs missed out on a national title, and the black jerseys denied them a 5&1 title as well.

And the bad one, The game played at the Cotton Bowl that’s not called the Cotton Bowl, Northwestern/Texas Tech — Not really THAT bad, but since Auburn stayed classy, I couldn’t put Phil’s Ducks here.

I know most of you didn’t agree with them, but I hope you at least enjoyed this year’s lists. Thanks to Phil and to Paul for putting up with me. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s basketball season. See ya!

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Gee Jim, thanks for keeping the Ducks out of the “1” spot. I’ll agree that it was far from their finest effort, but Auburn certainly held up it’s end of the bargain. And there were a couple that were far worse, including your “winner.”

Thanks for the weekly 5 & 1’s. None of us will ever understand how or why you pick what you do…but that’s half of the “fun,” innit?

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Uni Tweaks

Lots and lots of tweaks keep pouring in, so obviously this is a popular feature. A bunch new to get to today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great a keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

Got a big set of tweaks today…so lets get right into it.

Now, on to today’s tweaks:

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Starting off the show is Dave Johnson, who has new unis for the entire Big West Conference:

Hey Phil,

I was immediately inspired by your Tweaks blog and learned about Teambuilder from there, so I went to work!

I wanted to make new uniforms for my hometown’s Pacific Tigers, who unfortunately dropped football in 1995, but then I kept going and made uniforms for their entire current Big West conference rivals! Good times!

I love your blog, keep up the great work!

-Dave

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Next up is Brandon Sims, who has some thoughts on the Boise Community College, er, Boise State University Pro Combat:

Hey Phil!

So I’m sitting here watching the Maaco Las Vegas bowl and getting totally disgusted with BSU’s gradient numerals. The biggest change is obviously the pants, I would also have taken the name off the side if you could see it. I added those basic stripes to the sleeves and socks (and I took off the weird pattern). The only thing I don’t like about the changes is that now it looks like a Florida uni.

And finally we have Taylor McGillis, who has some MLB creations for us:

Phil,

I’m new to the uni tweaks. I actually just began messing around with uniforms the last few months, so I have quite a few tweaks saved up. Also, I’m not sure if all of these would be considered tweaks, as some of them are an entirely new uniform. My tweaks include new unis for the Mariners, Yankees, and White Sox. Some of them better than others, but overall I like the concepts I implemented. However, I am just a beginner with programs such as Photoshop and Fireworks so to you experts these may not be very good. But I thought I’d send them anyway, and I’d love some feedback.

MarinersHome: Changed to a “braided pipe” on the jerseyHome Sleeveless: A sleeveless jersey with the “S” logo on the chest. “Starball” logo on hat with silver bill.Home Northwestern Green: added stripes on the stirrups.Navy Alternates: Can be used either at home or on road. Braided piping.

OK. Because I hope by the time you all read this, I’ll be on my new mac, I put up these predictions before any of yesterday’s games had been played. So we’ll just go on the assumption that I was wrong with both sets of predictions.

Anyway, two more big games today, with the Seahawks traveling to the windy city to take on da Bears in the early game and the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets and Fireman Ed making the trip up to Foxboro. We’ll start with the first game.

Seahawks vs. Bears (1:00 pm EST, FOX). The Seahags come off a stunning upset of the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints last week, but will they have anything left, on the road, against the Bears? Probably not. While at least we can be sure they won’t be in their suicide blue monochromes, they will be in their all white getup, which is infinitely better. Sadly, that cannot compare to the beautiful classic that is arguably the NFL’s best uni. The better uni will win, for sure, but by how much? Vegas has the Bears favored by 10 points, with an over under of 41.5. I can’t see the Bears not overcoming that spread, possibly by the half.

Jets vs. Patriots: (4:30 EST, CBS) “This is personal,” chirped sexy Rexy this week (sound familiar), but hey, he and Gang Green knocked off the Colts, so maybe he’s onto something. Clearly, the men in green (well, mostly white with lots of green accents) have the better uniform, as this > this. Last time they met, in Foxboro, Tom Brady sent the chirping Jets home with their tails behind their legs, 45-3. It won’t be that bad today. For the Jets sake, it better not, anyway.

If the Jets can make use of their shock and awe ground and pound and keep Mr. Bundchen off the field, like they did with Peyton, they have a chance. Their chances, unlike their coach, are slim, but they’re there. Even though I am a Giants fan, I despise the Patriots (sorry good people of Boston, I just do), so I’ll actually be rooting for the Jets today. God, that’s gonna feel weird.

The Pick: Pats win, but they won’t cover the 9 point spread (over/under of 45), with a final score of Pats 28-Jets 24.

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There you have it. If you are visiting your bookmaker, be sure to take the Hawks & Pats, just to be safe.

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AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST my doubles partner, Brinke Guthrie, is here with his rundown down under…for the Aussie Open:

While 49 of the 50 states have snow, it’s sizzling Down Under, time for the Australian Open. As always, new looks galore. Let’s get the important one out of the way first — Caroline Wozniacki, aka The Woz. Her signature Stella McCartney Adidas line has been updated, here. Wozzie’s also sporting a new Yonex frame. Of course, some pros use frames disguised to look like a completely different model or even make. Hard to do with a Yonex, though, due to the distinctive squared off head. The definitive word on this shabby practice known as PJ’s (paint jobs) is here. As mentioned on Friday, Maria Sharapova’s bringing out a new Nike look to go with her new Head frame. Maria’s been playing with an unmarked Head for months now, even with her “lifetime” Prince deal, which is now history. Andy Roddick’s shoes are now very, very red. The Fed’s look is here. Nadal, here. Kim Clijster’s Fila line is here. Justine Henin’s kit is here. This is Ana Ivanovic’s Adidas line, here’s the UK’s Andy Murray, and more on the Adidas stable here. Melanie Oudin’s gone all-Wilson. And finally, I just don’t know what this is.

Thanks, Brinke.

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That’s it for today. Everyone have a good one!

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I just wanted to use the word climax in the same sentence as Jim Vilk. — Coleman Mullins

159 comments to Using Pro Combat for Good, Not Evil — Part II(I)

I think I’d slide the numbers down to the sleeves for the Raiders & Chargers, and keep the current number font (minus the italic part) on the Steelers.

Not really liking the Titans/Oilers hybrid thing either, but then I’m one of those few people that actually like the Titans current uniform for the most part.

Ronnie Poore|
January 16, 2011 at 8:19 am |

disagree re: Titans. Phil, that’s the best of all your NFL pro combats. i wish Tennessee would change to that immediately.

i like your Patriots design, but try it with the “Snappin’ Pat” logo instead of “Flying Elvis” = win!

The Jeff|
January 16, 2011 at 8:44 am |

The Patriots thing just looks too much like the Colts with red trim. It’s not a bad look… but it’s just not “Patriots”. Their current uniform is a bit more distinctive and probably not going anywhere considering the success they’ve had wearing it. Honestly I think a Pro Combat version realistically would probably do something like adding a star filled pattern inside the numbers or using both logos (elvis on the helmet, pat on the sleeves) before they’d go with a color swapped fauxback design.

the navy look would be too bad… i think i remember seeing a pats tweak a while back on here that looked similar to FAU’s… good look

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 11:04 am |

i think i remember seeing a pats tweak a while back on here that looked similar to FAU’s… good look

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i don’t think this is what you’re referring to, but i had done this as an example of “if the pats chosen blue instead of red” when the AFL was formed (although their throwback isn’t from 1960)…that’s actually the look i was going for with my pro combat tweak

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 11:13 am |

youre right, not the post i was referring to but definitley the look i was talking about… very nice

(great photoshop btw)

James|
January 17, 2011 at 12:21 am |

Ugh. Bringing back the old Oilers look reminds us Houston fans of what Bud Adams taketh away. I don’t mind the current look, but the old Oilers look is iconic and, frankly, I love the nouveau Oilers take on the Titans – much better than the Texans look which, aside from the red pants was kinda bland (I think the Texans comps are more vanilla than the Pats look you’ve got here, but that’s just me).

Komet17|
January 16, 2011 at 7:33 am |

Looks like there are aesthetic problems with Oregon’s new basketball court, after all:

spent 27 years in Cincinnati, lived very close to the school- never ever heard them referred to as “Archbishop Moeller.” Is that a new thing? Usually just Moeller, and when I lived there, their football team was better and more successful than the Bengals. Not a tough thing, granted. But still.

P|
January 17, 2011 at 9:06 pm |

Moeller was our big hockey rival when I played in high school. My only thought here is that they play in the Capital Hockey Conference, a Columbus based high school hockey league, and they have a decent tie to the Blue Jackets (they sponsor high school tournaments and the like). Moeller’s hockey team is older than 10 years though, so maybe just giving a shout to their Blue Jacket buddies?

Chiefs: Good
Dolphins: Good
Patriots: Agree with your assessment
Jets: Good – maybe dump the “cuff” stripe on the bottom of the jersey sleeve. Looks a touch odd
Raiders: Good
Steelers: Good
Chargers: Good – Did you play with helmet numbers?
Titans: Good

These teams all have some good historic value from which to scavenge and fits your prefered style and they all, even the Pats, look good.

The Jeff|
January 16, 2011 at 9:56 am |

The cuff stripe looks ok, if anything might need tweaked a bit it’s the shoulder loop part. I think the gap between that and the sleeve looks a bit odd. I wonder if they couldn’t just lose that entirely and just go with the different colored sleeve

/and the gray facemask should be green

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 10:26 am |

By that reasoning, the shoes should be white or green, right? Anything generic is unacceptable.

(Just giving you Sunday morning shit, The Jeff). lol

Seriously, though (and I think u and I agree on this) was thinking about “incidental colors” yesterday. To some peoples’ way of thinking, both the Steelers and Ravens would be perfectly fine wearing red jerseys, because there’s red in the helmet decal of one and the patch of the other. This, of course, is ridiculous.

There’s a flesh tone in the Celtics’ leprechcaun. That mean the Celtics could wear “Caucasian” colored unis? Of course not. “Flesh” is not a Celtic color just because it appears in the logo.

—Ricko

The Jeff|
January 16, 2011 at 10:45 am |

Well at least we agree on the ridiculousness of the Ravens or Steelers wearing red jerseys. Gold jerseys on the other hand…

I think shoes might still fall into the same area that facemasks did pre-1974. Every team used gray, so it was fine. Once teams started using colored ones… no. Right now, every team has white or black shoes – so, fair enough. If a couple teams started using team colored shoes, then I’d want to see black shoes reserved for teams that actually use black in their color scheme. White still works due to the league mandated universal nature of it. I’m kinda surprised we haven’t had any teams go with colored shoes, actually. Does the league prevent that by rule or something?

as far as the colored shoes — that’s one thing im not as “old school” on, since the players are already allowed to wear 49% of any “designated” color as it is…

the problem with that, of course, is everyone has his own PE’s (or so it seems) and they’re such an individualistic thing that mandating, say, the giants in blue or the jets in green would be even worse than what we have now, because it would be such a clusterfuck

but, for example, when boise community college played va tech (and then again in their toilet bowl game), the blue shoes (since they were almost all a match due to one manufacturer) looked good

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 11:28 am |

I have to agree, my only problem with colored shoes is continuity… Ochocinco is a good example, hell often wear those orange cleats but their it always looks a little off from the rest of the uni….

What I do like are team who use cleat color as an accent.. I’m thinking the seahawks with the lime green or even the giants with the red

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 10:39 am |

I agree, the sleeves look a little off but that might just be a product of the angle we’re viewing it (?) love the socks though

i think id prefer a green facemask too but if the goal is a namath era throwback i suppose gray it is

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 10:42 am |

thanks, ben — i think that may be the first time i heard anything resembling even faint praise from you ;)

on a more serious note…the jets in procombat, was tough, because i was trying to approximate this or this for the roads and this for the homes…

i say approximate because what i did isn’t exactly what they wore, but i loved their 3/4th sleeve look with the TVs way down on the arm

to do that, in pro combat, it came out looking like it did, which is an odd look — my first effort actually had solid shoulders (no different color cuff), but that looked really bad

i also hesitated to put TVs on any of the pro combat comp sleeves, because i can’t see the players all wearing them (as much as they really should)…the jets were my only #’s on comp sleeve

but that gets me to thinking — as much as TV’s on the comp sleeve on every team might suck — it might also be a way to force the players to wear them (yeah…good luck with that)

just thinking outloud

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 11:11 am |

All they’d need do is incorpoate a uni rule stating that armpits must not be exposed at any time.

I know it’s hard to believe, but football was played that way for more than a century.

—Ricko

Flip|
January 16, 2011 at 1:11 pm |

That’d be a good rule and would force some sort of sleeve solution.

Ricardo Leonor|
January 16, 2011 at 10:04 am |

Here’s another Giant fan that will be rooting for the Jets today. I dislike Rex Ryan and his “look at me” antics….but I absolutely hate Brady and the Patriots. Hope Jets watched some SuperBowl 42 game film on how to handle the Patriots by smacking Brady around…..

As far as the unis, Patriots look really good in the Red throwbacks, but as was mentioned, they have had WAY TOO much success in the current ones..they probably will not be changing anytime soon….

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 10:16 am |

I think maybe Rex might be dumb like a fox.
Say something outrageous so everyone will focus on me and not bug my players. Keep reporters away from Sanchez until he’s been around a few more years.

Not saying it works in the sense that it makes the Jets winners…but it certainly does keep the media distracted.

Kinda says something that they ARE so easily distracted, doesn’t it. Or does it say something more about how lame the public is, that WE’RE so easily distracted?

Like showing something sparkly to a crow.

—Ricko

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 10:44 am |

_Like showing something sparkly to a crow_

is that like showing a fertile young woman to a Cro(martie)?

…as a Jets fan, I have to say it feels good to have players and coaches who seems as passionate about it as you do… i.e. if you asked the average Jet fan how they felt about brady, im sure the response would be similar to Cro’s

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 10:52 am |

if you asked the average Jetfootball human fan how they felt about brady, im sure the response would be similar to Cro’s

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(fixed … twice)

Anthony|
January 16, 2011 at 10:28 am |

The Dolphins logo has always bothered me. Why, if he’s wearing a helmet, does it have a different logo from the helmet he’s on? And has anyone ever noticed that the helmet doesn’t seem to fit his head? Dolphins are sleek, speedy, strong animals. That logo has always looked clunky and flabby to me. I LOVE their colors (very South Florida), but this is a team that could use an update, in my humble opinion.
Of course, if they did update anything, they’d probably screw it up worse than Jacksonville did.

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 10:39 am |

Think it’s a size issue. The regular logo would be pretty tiny on the dolphin’s helmet on the Dolphins’ helmet. Always figured was about “readibility”. And it does get an “M” onto the helmet, too.

Is a style from an era. Certainly wouldn’t see that kind of a logo desinged today. But they hold onto it, and with good reason. Despite stumbling a bit now, the Dolphins remain one of the NFL’s more successful franchises, on the field and off.

Having spent some time in Florida, I know that loyalty to the Dolphins, and all things Dolphin, runs pretty deep. Far, far more ingrained that any such feelings for the Heat, Panthers or Marlins.

Lotta other things to do in South Florida, but they do love their Dolphins.

—Ricko

Anthony|
January 16, 2011 at 11:00 am |

Fair enough. I think the lack of aerodynamics* in the logo is what has stuck in my craw more than anything else. If the Oilers had stayed in Houston and ever changed anything, I think I’d be up in arms. I suppose the unfortunate thing is that with a little effort they could redesign using a lot of the same elements (the sun, the M, the dolphin) but just update it a bit; they’d probably wind up with something that looked like the Seahawks logo. My brother-in-law is a ‘Phins fan, and would hate a redesign. Despite my misgivings over the look of the logo, I always prefer loyalty, especially to fans, over merchandising.

*Can you use that term about an animal in water? Should it be “hydrodynamics” instead? :)

Ricko, I like the general look of the updates, but the Dolphins must have aqua facemasks.

mtjaws|
January 16, 2011 at 4:06 pm |

The Dolphin loyalty is because they’ve been here for decades. The other three teams were all expansion teams, and have had to build fanbases from transplants and youngsters. That always goes slow, but for those teams, the next 20 years should be much better than the first 20, particularly because people will have grown up with these teams here. Winning will help too!

Regarding these Miami pro-combat prototypes, I think they look good. I especially love how the home uni features an Aqua jersey! They should always where that at home instead of the ugly/boring all-whites. That said, the road uni should be white over aqua because they need some color besides socks and numbers.

The little M helmet on the logo dolphin does make sense to me, and I don’t think they need to create a direct copy of the actual helmet. He’s old school anyway and swims without a facemask!

And finally, here in FL, I don’t think the Dolphins are ever really called “The Fish”. “Fins” or “Phins” is quite common for them because the Marlins are more often called “The Fish”. That one is more accurate too.

Pat|
January 16, 2011 at 10:57 am |

The first thing I want to put out there is that in general you did a very good job with the NFL Pro-Combats. That being said I have a bone to pick with 4 of your uni sets today. In the case of each one I felt like you went Old School For Old School’s Sake(OSFOSS). The Patriots current unis are not that ba of a modern look. They just need to line up the pant striping and piping. I’ll give you that one because you said yourself that you didn’t like it. The Jets current unis harken enough to the olden days that you didn’t realy need to mess with them. Instead it just made them look dated. The Chargers current sets look way better than the old school look. Again going old school makes them look dated. The only thing the Chargers should do is make the powder blue their primary. Now the one for me that was least necessary in it’s OSFOSS treatment was the Titans. The unis look ok, but their current sets are definitely not a mess. Their current sets are unique and recognizable. Their current sets are actually quite awesome in my opinion. They are number 2 behind the Niners for me.(Niners set wouLd be perfect if they fixed the sleeve stripes) I say all that, but I will say great job with the tweaks. Oh and I don’t like the Bears unis. Striping and numberng is too thin and they need to lose the initials on the sleeves. They’re kinda bland to me. But again that’s just my opinion.

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 11:18 am |

Never minded the Tennessee Titans look.
Some of the combinations, yes, but overall is a decent marriage of old (columbia blue and red) with navy (and the shoulder treatment) addded to give them something unique to their time in Tennessee.

One thing sure, can always ID them in about one second if catching a highlights or Top Plays package. That, to me, is one thing EVERY uni should do. If it takes me five seconds to figure out what the hell team that is, the uni is a failure.

—Ricko

Jim Vilk|
January 16, 2011 at 4:41 pm |

Only thing I don’t like about the Titans is the number font. OK, the flaming thumbtack logo isn’t great, but I can live with it.

I’d rather see the Texans adopt Phil’s tweak.

StLMarty|
January 16, 2011 at 11:19 am |

The Pats have a silver helmet and NO silver on their road set (except for the collar). That is bad.
The adidas stripes on their road socks come from out of nowhere. That is bad.
Side panel? Really, really bad.

and…

Chiefs. Your team colors are red and yellow. Put some yellow on your helmet.

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 11:41 am |

Adding stripes to high white road socks (when home socks were solid) has been around awhile.

’50s Lions and original Bills are a couple that come quickly to mind. Vikings, too, in the last years of purple pants in the Met Stadium era.

Me, I’d like to see the Patriots’ current set with the silver pants and white jerseys from time to time. Think they’ve worn that combo only, like, once, though. Well, and in that TV spot for Canon or whoever it was.

—Ricko

Jim Vilk|
January 16, 2011 at 4:43 pm |

“Chiefs. Your team colors are red and yellow. Put some yellow on your helmet.”

Yeah, like on the outline of the arrowhead, please. Replace that black outline and that logo would really pop.

And that’s the only change I would make to the league’s best uniforms.

DenverGregg|
January 16, 2011 at 11:18 am |

That Titans set is perfect. I’d buy and wear those jerseys even though I don’t like the team. Steelers, Dolphins, Chiefs and Raiders should always look like you’ve depicted them.

Chargers are nearly perfect, but the numbers seem overly elongated.

As THE Jeff said, the Jets’ shoulder loops don’t quite work.

Gusto44|
January 16, 2011 at 11:33 am |

I liked the old Houston Oilers uniform, but the Tennessee Titans made the same move in adopting a new identity after the franchise moved in the mid 90s. The Titans did pay homage to the old Oilers by using the distinctive color scheme of the Houston team.

We always have to remember sports franchises aren’t like a McDonald’s franchise, which are interchangeable throughout the country. If that was true, we wouldn’t have city names in front of these teams. Each have their own separate identity and bond with the city they represent, so the history is inevitably tied to that city, good or bad. Earl Campbell has a much to do with Tennessee as John Unitas has to do with Indianapolis-Zero.

That’s precisely why moving sports franchises is such a difficult event for a city losing that particular team, it’s almost like a divorce. When it’s over, it’s really over. The Titans actually did wear the Oiler uniform at least one year in Tennessee before switching over, but that was nearly 15 years ago. Aside from the few fans in Tennesse who moved from Houston back in the day, it’s largely irrelevant to the majority of the people there. If you’re Titans fan 30 or younger, Earl Campbell is someone you know from NFL Films. Different city, different times, different fans.

The Tennessee Titans have forged their own identity with those fans, including nearly winning a super bowl in 2000.

Anthony|
January 16, 2011 at 11:40 am |

Well said, Gusto. As sick as I was as a life-long Oilers fan when the team moved to Tennessee, I was that much sicker seeing “Tennessee Oilers” in the old Oilers unis. I hated everything about it, much like I hate it when the Titans wear Oilers throwbacks. Their update, while not the most aesthetically successful, was a relief to me and helped alleviate a tiny amount of the bitterness that I felt toward Bastard Bud Adams and his actions. The common sentiment in Houston is that Adams should have let us keep the Oilers name, logo, etc., so that when we got a new team, we could be the Oilers again (like Cleveland with the Browns).

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 11:50 am |

Teams names and colors don’t belong to a community.
They’re private property.
Granted, the Browns Scenario cast a different light on it, and, yes, eventually such a thing may not be the exception.

For now, though, it is.

“Lakers” didn’t belong to the Twin Cities area any more in 1959 (despite the legendary status of those Mikan teams) than “3M” does today.

I know that’s a bitter pill for a lot of people to swallow, but that’s the fact.

—Ricko

Flip|
January 16, 2011 at 1:17 pm |

The flaw in that line of reasoning today is that unlike the days of yore, these teams ARE part of the community. Owners hold a gun to the community, i.e. taxpayers, and force outrageously sweetheart deals that favor ownership. Owners may own the franchise, but w/o their fans – and their stadium deals – they don’t have much.

im actually planning on revisiting this topic (with a special guest) in the not too distant future, during the dead period between the super bowl and the first pitch of spring, when there is nothing worth watching on tv…

we KNOW how you feel about franchises moving, and it’s not an invalid point…but it doesn’t need to come up every time we discuss a uniform of a franchise that moved

I forgot that hockey was playing during that time. I mean, it’s the fastest team sport played by man, but who knew it was played in the winter? ;o)

The Jeff|
January 16, 2011 at 12:20 pm |

It’s always winter in Canada isn’t it?

Ricko|
January 16, 2011 at 1:15 pm |

It isn’t how I feel.
It’s fact.

And I didn’t bring it up. There was a comment about the many in Houston who believe Bud Adams should have left the Oilers nickname behind.

It gets to be a little like listening to people continue to insist that every waitreses who works for tips should have to really mean it when she tells a guy she thinks he’s cute.

It’s business, folks.

—Ricko

Gusto44|
January 16, 2011 at 5:36 pm |

Agreed, it is a business, which is inevitably tied to the community it serves. That makes it unique to other business franchises. And that will never change.

Dave Johnson|
January 16, 2011 at 11:35 am |

I loved seeing all the team’s pro combat get ups. Pretty much all of them were great.

The Steelers are perfect, probably my favorite. I love what you did with the Titans as well.

Still the one that bothers me is what you did for my favorite team, San Francisco 49ers. Why are they wearing a gold face mask? You took the black off the oval and put it on the numbers, now they look like NC State! Yuck!

I agree with you that the three white stripes on the sleeve should go all the way around, but thats all I’ll agree to. I’m a little defensive cause I’m so happy with what they’ve got now.

joe|
January 16, 2011 at 11:38 am |

How are NFL teams ever gonna proceed with good uniforms when all you want them to do is to go back to throwbacks?
Throwbacks are throwbacks not current unis.
It’s okay go back to them once awhile but if you want all the teams to wear throwbacks, are uniform changes for the future ever gonna happen? Theres gonna be no history for teams right now to make.
A team like the Chargers unis are perfect right now, many were skeptical but it’s grown out on most of us so it’d be dumb to change it again.

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 11:57 am |

the goal with this, although it didn’t actually start out that way, was to try to “counter” the crazy nike fakes that went viral on the net and scared the everliving crap out of everyone when a few people thought they might be what nike was actually planning…i simply started this as a way to show that the pro combat concept can actually improve a team’s looks

i don’t think anyone seriously thought the patriots would look like this or the bengals like this in 2012…but if that’s all you show people, they’re going to hate nike more than they already do (i know, i know, some people think that’s not a bad thing)

i could have really played with “new” looks for teams, but that wasn’t my intent — in fact, about the most i really did was the pats, and even then, i didn’t like that

do i want every team in throwbacks? no, but showing a uniform that is familiar to people as an example of how a team could “use” the pro combat concept had a purpose

and as far as our opinions of who is “perfect” now, we’ll just disagree…and that’s fine, because they are opinions and that’s what makes UW great

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm |

You have a point but I think you’re looking at it the wrong way…

Think about Oregon States pro combats. yes theyre “throwbacks” but the thing that made it good look was the mix of traditional with modern that turned out to be a real classy and classic look.

And this goes right with your example of the chargers current unis. They retain classic elements and colors but with a modern twist to create a good look.

And thats what Phil (in my opinion) is shooting for. Its not as if he’s saying every team needs a change, its just a thought experiment on what could be done and he’s taking cues from the nike procombat project which likes to meld the past with the present

Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 11:53 am |

Just heard on ESPN from Chris Mortensen that the NFL is considering making it mandatory for all players to wear knee and thigh pads to help prevent injuries.If it means the end of the bike shorts look then I’m all for it.

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 12:04 pm |

I’m with you Phil on the aesthetics of it… buttt, not really understanding what injuries the nfl thinks will be prevented? bumps and bruises?

The Jeff|
January 16, 2011 at 12:11 pm |

Yeah, the biker shorts look is rather bad… but pads aren’t really going to prevent the types of injuries we typically see.

Matt Williams|
January 16, 2011 at 12:12 pm |

Thigh pads help. A lot. Those pads saved me from more than a few blunt force muscle tears in my playing days. Besides, a deep muscle bruise is almost as bad as a strain or a tear.

jdreyfuss|
January 16, 2011 at 1:18 pm |

Yeah, that was one of the things that was hampering Peyton Hillis in the second half of the year. He had a deep muscle bruise in his thigh that they were scrambling to keep from ossifying because he kept reinjuring it.

This one was last night, the Spokane Chiefs beat the Kootenay Ice 11-2 in Spokane. The game was in Avista Stadium (home of the single-A Indians).

It was the first outdoor game in WHL history. The next one is here in Calgary next month, with the Hitmen playing the Regina Pats at McMahon Stadium the Monday after the Flames-Canadiens game.

Matt Williams|
January 16, 2011 at 12:05 pm |

Hey, Phil. I sent you a couple of colorizations a couple of days ago. Did they not find their way to you?

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm |

just checked my inbox, and i don’t see anything — can you resend? it’s possible they landed in the spam folder, but i check that regularly before dumping it … please label whatever you send “colorization” or something similar so it stands out…

mea culpa if i accidentally deleted anything you sent

Matt Williams|
January 16, 2011 at 12:44 pm |

Sure thing. No problem. They were titled “Giants-Steelers colorization” and “Another colorization.”phecken@yahoo.com is your e-mail, right?

You know, if a new team named themselves the Thistles and used a similar logo it would become wildly popular and sell a million and soon other teams would follow and see the dollar signs behind simple depictions of geographic landmarks and things in nature that aren’t necessarily intimidating, but merely interesting and fanciful and–dare I say–beautiful.

I’m OK with the Chiefs’ Pro Combat look, ‘cept the facemask needs to be white. Chiefs went to white because equipment manager thought it would provide more contrast so refs could see facemask penalties. Plus, it’s a good look on them.

Flip|
January 16, 2011 at 12:58 pm |

Titans look is a home run, Phil!

jdreyfuss|
January 16, 2011 at 1:21 pm |

I’d maybe keep one nod to the current look though. Make the undersleeves navy with the red-white-powder-white-red stripes on them for home and away.

=bg=|
January 16, 2011 at 1:13 pm |

Just turned on the Bears game, lookit that weather. THAT is football weather.

MarkL|
January 16, 2011 at 1:14 pm |

Lofa Tatupu’s pants today are shorter than anyone’s shorts in the NBA since John Stockton. It’s embarrassing.

Maybe Cutler’s a jerk, maybe he isn’t. I don’t claim to have any knowledge on that front.

But I do know this: If habitually saying, “y’know” a lot makes someone a jerk, then this country is full of jerks.

And if giving boring non-answers to a reporter’s questions makes an athlete a jerk, then nearly every athlete is a jerk.

MarkL|
January 16, 2011 at 2:32 pm |

Reilly has gotten into this groove, if you can call something horrible a “groove”, of writing pieces that play on existing sentiment of sports fans, rather than challenging what people think. It is lazy writing. If you want to write about someone in a negative light, why in the world does a talented, shy, never-been-in-trouble quarterback top your list? Because it’s easy, and because you’re the jerk, Reilly.

I’ve always been sort of puzzled/troubled/intrigued by the relationship between reporters and the athletes they cover. We take it for granted that reporters should have access to players, but I sure wouldn’t want someone coming into MY workplace and quizzing me on my job performance. That’s one reason I’ve never wanted to be a beat reporter — I wouldn’t be comfortable doing it, because I’d always feel like I was intruding on someone’s space.

I’m not trying to bash the media in general, or Reilly in particular — I’m a media professional, so I’m generally pro-media. But I do think it’s a little odd that a particular branch of the media (i.e., sportswriters) gets to scrutinize a particular kind of worker (i.e., athletes) in the workers’ workplace.

So when I hear Reilly or any other sportswriter complaining about an athlete’s crummy answers to questions, I usually think, “Yeah, you’re just pissed that he’s not making your job easier. But he doesn’t owe you that.”

Of course, as a fan, I prefer interesting quotes over boring quotes, just like everyone else. But I don’t feel anyone owes me that, and I can think of lots of reasons why athletes might give boring quotes. For starters, they may be shy, or bored with answering the same questions over and over, or trying to preserve some sense of privacy. Also, most athletes are boring people (that’s what happens when you spend most of your life in weight rooms, hotels, and airports), so I don’t expect them to say particularly interesting things.

But that doesn’t make them jerks.

Jim Vilk|
January 16, 2011 at 5:06 pm |

I’ve never agreed with you more, Paul.

I used to do sideline interviews and I hated it. I don’t care for the whole concept of locker room/sideline interrogation. I just want to watch the games. Press conferences are “okay” but most of the questions from those are useless, too.

One thing I made a point of was to not ask the same old questions. I tried to point out a fact of the game and let the player/coach expand on it. Not always easy to do, which is why so many reporters ask the same old lazy questions: “What was going through your mind?”, “Take us through that final play.”, “What kind of adjustments do you need to make in the second half?”, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

They ask the same stuff and the player/coach gives the same rehearsed answers…most of the time. It’s almost as if the reporter (or his/her boss) is thinking, “It’s worth it to get that one inflammatory quote. Keep plugging away.” Well, I don’t even pay attention. And I don’t blame anyone who gives a curt or snarky answer. If I were in their shoes I’d either do the same thing or just take a vow of silence.

That article has been heavily scrutinized in the Chicago sports media the last few days. Reilly was going around asking Cutler and his teammates cryptic, off-base questions, such as “How many people, you know, actually KNOW you?” to Cutler himself.

“I also care about what I like to call their “costumes.” Certainly, yesterday, the Steelers’ costumes were much better than the Ravens costumes. Man, the Ravens looked like they were wearing ladies’ leggings. I think you want some color break at the knee, so I was for the Steelers.

Exactly! That’s whole point of football socks — to provide a point of contrast. That’s why color-topped socks look better with white pants, and why white-topped socks look good with colored pants (although color-topped hose can also work fine with colored pants as long as the two colors aren’t the same).

Wow, I’m normally not much for the tweaks but Phil I love your Steelers’ tweaks with the return of the block numbers and the sleeve stripe in the sock. I may have found a new desktop background. Great job!

so you did see phil, which makes me want to say it is very hard to believe you didn’t see it in the first place, but we can move past it like a mac typo, and move on to a topic that i am sure will fly over head like a led zeppelin of the day…

i was making some ham and eggs, so i couldn’t post this right away, but let’s talk national anthem. i am not a big fan of the trend for the last 20 years were it is played for every game, and less of a fan of people treating god bless america as some sort of love it or leave it i better goose-step in the 7th inning, but i am a proud american too, so i live with the anthem part of the equation. whatever, it is what it is when it comes to the anthem, but chicago has this thing where they sing it loud and proud, and it is sometimes pretty cool, that is when it isn’t a “forced” thing like it is at a mid season hawks game. today’s it is cold and snowing i live in chicago so my balls are bigger then yours singing of the anthem did not feel forced but genuine, pretty sweet. that being said, the somewhat disturbing shots of people in the crowd were one thing, and i can’t believe i forget the guys name, but the visuals of the guy singing were beyond scary. i know in retrospect it was only a camera angle thing, and he was just standing puffy-chested and pointing at the flag with a splayed hand, but did anyone else feel like he was a little sieg-heily? seriously, from anyone who *saw* it, did the hair on your neck raise too?

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 2:56 pm |

i said i saw it robert, after you pointed it out to me, and you said “don’t bother responding” so i didn’t

~~~

on another note, i had to run out for the past two hours, since my pop fell, second time this week, and being that he’s probably twice your size moose (and not in a good way), he required three people to lift him and set him back up in a chair…so i still don’t have the mac up and running and i’ll probably be off the boards for the rest of the day

thanks to kek and anyone else who liked the pro combat mocks

everyone have a good sunday (or at least better than mine is going so far)

and robert, please pass along my congrats (again) to p-apps and apologies for not seeing and responding immediately yesterday

~~~

peace all

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 3:11 pm |

you are so sensitive, that’s what you took from that? i intentionally posted late, so nooooobody else here read what you did, or even understands if they did,that was all just for you. but what the hell, since that is what you want to respond to, way to “*finally*” be a man.

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 3:15 pm |

no…that’s not what i took from that…and im fine with dropping it if you want to

however, on your second point, about the anthem — i like that…like a lot…as something we should explore (like the other thing i mentioned to you, and which gusto brought up again today) in a column

i also heard back from mr. starbuck…in a big way…i’ll forward to you before i leave for the day

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 3:30 pm |

all very cool phil, read it love it. but on the second idea, i am pretty sure what i brought up would fly like that led zep i refered to, and would only cause you headache, so let’s pass on that one.

you know i love you skip, but i call spades spades here and there, and i triiied to be somewhat covert about it.

DenverGregg|
January 16, 2011 at 3:02 pm |

While out and about this morning, caught the beginning of the Bears game on radio. The doofus announcer described the visitors in “white jerseys with teal numbers” and the home team in “black jerseys with orange and white and white pants with black and orange”. Sheesh.

Okay, well…er…um…in defense of the “doofus” announcer, I grew up thinking the Bears jersey and helmet were black. The photos in magazines and advertisements usually were in b & w, and the fb cards, posters, memorabilia, etc., depicted them, to my eyes–honest–as being black. I see the dark, dark navy now. But I can understand someone describing the Bears color as black–it’s not that much of a stretch.

And the Seahawks…sorry, but that color IS teal, or sludge, to my eyes, too. If that’s blue, then I am more color blind than I thought.

Bears: Agreed. Much like the Yankees, I know it’s dark blue, but it often looks black in photos and on teevee.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 5:27 pm |

if only the ravens would ditch the black and purple and go with a purlack or blurple that you couldn’t really tell what colour it was except in certain lights.

=bg=|
January 16, 2011 at 3:08 pm |

Phil if you start using MobileMe Mac email I’d be interested to hear how it works. I may end up with that.

Stirpey|
January 16, 2011 at 3:40 pm |

Question:

Re: NFL Pro Combat looks

To all my fellow Uniwatcher’s…

Has it been brought up that if Nike uses the undershirts for team designs (i.e., stripes, numbers) much like it did with Oregon State and Oregon, that players would actually wear them? Many players go sans undershirts, or at least shirts w/o sleeves, so wouldn’t it be possible that you’d have the skills players wearing striped sleeves undershirts, then the linemen going sans-sleeves so they don’t get held etc? I think this would become an issue as many players go for individuality…

…What do you think?

I don’t think the NFL could mandate such a rule as an undershirt w/sleeves is preference for players…

I think you’d see teams running around with half their players in sleeves w/numbers n stripes n half without. But that’s just me…

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 3:52 pm |

I don’t think the NFL could mandate such a rule as an undershirt w/sleeves is preference for players…

~~~

they could, but it would have to be part of the next CBA and the owners/NFL would probably have to give a concession…and the attire of their players might be down on their list — they could also attempt to impose fines for uni violators, but you’d have to write it into the rules first…

it’s a great point (and as i said somewhere above) one of the reasons i didn’t put the uni number on any of the comp sleeves except the jets — player compliance

you might get more compliance on wearing sleeves IF you put their number on there…and mandated it’s being seen, but try convincing some of the cavemen (im looking at you mr. hovan) to wear them..even when facing fines

Stirpey|
January 16, 2011 at 3:58 pm |

You’d have a better chance of asking him to tattoo stripes/numbers onto his arms than getting him to wear sleeves.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 4:01 pm |

i don’t think uniform rules fall under the cba.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 3:54 pm |

for sure that would happen. the same way people modified their jerseys back when, or individualize socks today. i am sure i will get murdered for this, but is that really such a bad thing? i remember when the browns webSTAR slaughter skill players all wore stripes, and the lineman like cody risen wore tight sleeves in the kosar era, it bothered me, but i remember saying to myself, at least the guys the cameras focus on still have sleeves, i hope everyone doesn’t ditch the sleeves. again, not that it is good, just saying at least someone will look okay. and if it takes silly stripes off shoulder pads like the steelers have, maybe it will be addition by subtraction.

Stirpey|
January 16, 2011 at 4:05 pm |

To the NFL it is…I prefer a little individuality here and there, unless you put 5 million striped socks on or one maroon, one white. I’m talking more like orange cleats or something along those lines (black chin strap, etc). but the NFL hates when players try to fight uniformity and do what they want. I also think that if this happened (some wearing the undershirts, some not) only us Uniwatcher’s may actually notice how un-uniform it actually looks so if the NFL never mandates a rule saying the shirt is part of the uniform, then it’ll be just another monday morning uniwatch post to add to the many!

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 4:16 pm |

i largely agree, i don’t mind a little individuality in the nfl, it is theater anyway. the only reason there is any uniform code is that the nfl wants you to identify with their teams, not their players. that being said, give ’em an inch and they will take a mile, so maybe the sleeve thing would get ridiculous, but at first thought i say meh.

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 4:03 pm |

Jets arent going all white today… white tops, green bottoms

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 4:07 pm |

that’s a mistake

i haven’t followed them that closely this season, but im pretty sure they haven’t gone white over green even once — they wore the green pants with the green tops (and they did that twice), but not the white/green combo

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 4:13 pm |

you are correct, this is the first white over green and the second appearance of the green pants… 1-0 with them though even though they’re the uglier look

odd because theyve loved the white over white this year(even wore it at home twice)… my guess is to switch it up from last games…ahem…poor showing

FormerDirtDart|
January 16, 2011 at 4:15 pm |

Apparently I should have refreshed before posting

FormerDirtDart|
January 16, 2011 at 4:22 pm |

They went green over green twice this season. Against the Texans in week 11 (Nov 21, and against the Bill in week 17 (Jan 2)

The white over green is looking good. They should go keep that as their “away” set.
I tend to hate monochrome of any kind anyhow. Not enough contrast.

johnj|
January 16, 2011 at 4:42 pm |

I have to agree… looks great with those socks. Good unique look.

Matt Williams|
January 16, 2011 at 4:53 pm |

My basic theory is that if a team only has one color (since white hardly counts as a color) they should wear a colored jersey with white pants for their “home” set and a white jersey and colored pants for their “away” set. No need to get ridiculous by adding monchrome white and monochrome color sets to the mix. It would be like adding botulism to your Happy Meal just because you wanted some variety.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 5:05 pm |

i don’t know if that follows matt. not sure that an all white look is as horrible as thrax, but i get it, you are not for it in your horchata. but i do think people like dark pants and light shirts because that is what they tend to see every day. i remember in the early 90’s there was some designer who thought mlb was getting it wrong, and proposed instead of dark shirts, maybe teams should wear dark pants because it would be more familiar and “fashion” sensible. just throwing it out there.

Graf Zeppelin|
January 16, 2011 at 10:09 pm |

I like the white-over-white, but yea, white-over-green is not a bad look at all.

that was sweeeeeeet, and almost as sweet as the bradies losing. only prollem, after the pack beats the bear, either way the afc shakes out, you don’t have super bowl super contrast. the pack is grÃ¼n und gelb, the steeler has gelb, and the jet has grÃ¼n. i have watched more nfl this weekend then i have all year.

LarryB|
January 16, 2011 at 7:10 pm |

I still have no idea how guys do the uni tweeks. Is there any tutorial anyplace that tells you how to do the numbers or stripes or any changes?

Not saying I would have a lot of time to do a bunch. But maybe try it and see what it is like.

As always I like the colorizations.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 7:31 pm |

don’t you colourize? do it that way and ditch the tired templates, it will resonate better anyway.

LarryB|
January 16, 2011 at 7:44 pm |

Yes I do. I figured there were templates.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 9:09 pm |

do your thing then, own your style. i don’t always agree with you, but when i see your name next to a colourized shot, i now i need to open it. so make your own template, it might not work for every tweak, but when it does it will be poiffffecto.

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 9:06 pm |

k…not that anyone cares but back from the ER…pop will be spending tonight en l’hopital so there’s not much more i can do for him tonight … last thing he said before i left was “sorry i made you miss the jets game” … jeez pop…that was the last thing on my mind…anyway

larry —

as far as colorizations and uni tweaks and such go — if you couldn’t tell, im self-taught, and all it takes, much like your own colorizations, is practice, practice practice

sure, there is a skill involved, it’s called patience — if you want to make it look “good” just don’t half-ass it…

i downloaded gimp this summer and look how far (or look how far i still have to go) i’ve come…

the nike pro combat is a template, although i actually went about it a different way than downloading that, since i no longer have photoshop…but that’s one way — just load that into p-shop (if you have it)

but if you can colorize, it’s the same principle

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 9:30 pm |

truer words were never spoken. patience, desire, throw in a little personal style…boom, you have it. good call hecken.

and phil, sorry about the old man, he will always be with you. so chin up, think about what he gave you, love that, and it will all be good. i sound liken a hippie, i’ll fly to new york, you can have a free* shot.
*burgundy rules, void in tennessee.

another use of the star! i own how stupid* i am.
*thanks pops

LarryB|
January 16, 2011 at 9:43 pm |

Gee Phil, Sorry to hear about your dad. Dad’s will always be special. Mine was a great sports fan and I enjoyed his stories. Hope things will be ok.

I will mess around with them in time. I like looking at them and some are very cool. I like the football ones more.

Matt Williams|
January 17, 2011 at 3:27 am |

I am sorry to hear about your father. Mine is in the hospital as well. I hope your father scandalizes the nurses and gets out soon.

As for colorizations. I have both GIMP and Photoshop and I have to say that I prefer GIMP for these. Besides, who does not like free stuff?

Noticed something during Da Bears game today, when the first and ten line was in just the right spot. Is it common knowledge that the Bears’ wishbone C isn’t symmetrical? I’d never noticed it before, mentioned to a friend who is a life long rabid fan, and he let me know it’s always bothered him.

Thought the Jets looked great toady in the white/green. I like the all white as well, but the white over green looked even better.

Pats look better in blue than white, but still leave me longing for the Patriot Pat unis.

Seahawks looked horible in white/white. Should go back to the white over gloom blue look.

Rob S|
January 16, 2011 at 10:55 pm |

Personally, I think the Seahawks should lose the “suicide blue” altogether, and replace it with their original blue. And I don’t quite get why a football team has a shoulder yoke cutting into the *ahem* “sleeves” like a hockey uniform. Doesn’t look right on the gridiron.

Donald|
January 16, 2011 at 10:31 pm |

As no one else has said it. Uni-tweak the Yankees home jerseys? Are you crazy? Those are probably the most recognizable uniform in sports right now. And to replace the pin-stripes with simple piping wow just wow.

Rob S|
January 16, 2011 at 10:47 pm |

As noted in the text of the link, it’s not meant to replace the pinstripes outright – it’s an alternate.

Though the Yanks have been in essentially the same uniforms for so long, seeing them in anything else would be pretty weird.

jduncs|
January 16, 2011 at 10:59 pm |

did you really take time to make these nfl uniforms? they’re all either uniforms from the past or what they wear currently. again, yawn and boring nfl if it was up to you… no offense

=bg=|
January 16, 2011 at 11:25 pm |

you know, it really P*SSES me off when someone who seems to be new here, decides to take a shot at something that really took a lot of time. Can YOU make those designs up? I didn’t THINK so. The uni-tweak thing is not my bag, but I sure can appreciate the effort it took to make them up.

Trolls, trolls, everywhere. Whatever.

chimp|
January 16, 2011 at 11:00 pm |

i almost forgot!

mothervilker, thanks for the 5, best call of the year, and in the perfect spot. individually horrible, but together made a great aesthetic game in my horcharta. i can’t believe it took me so long to remember to say that.

traxel|
January 16, 2011 at 11:13 pm |

Phil, what can I say other than I’ll be thinking about your fam. Hang in there you grumpy old sorry sack.

Larry, I created my own template in autocad. I use it since that is the program I use for work anyway. Mine isn’t all pro combaty but it works. I made one for each of the big four sports, I used it here…http://www.uniwatchblog.com/2010/10/24/because-the-ncaa-needs-more-teams-like-the-ducks/
Anyway, I’d say just find a style that works for you, whether its in MSPaint, autocad, photoshop, gimp, or something else. If I could only get Phil to learn what microsoft is so I don’t have to translate everything (read dumb it down).

LI Phil|
January 16, 2011 at 11:26 pm |

If I could only get Phil to learn what microsoft is so I don’t have to translate everything (read dumb it down)

~~~

ah yes…like the lesson in html coding

i kid i kid

thanks for the kind words boothill…er bootheel

traxel|
January 16, 2011 at 11:40 pm |

html coding is for sissys (read I’m clueless). Where is the “boothill”?

I just went back and reread some of the comments on the link that didn’t work above and saw that LarryB, you have been asking this “how to” question on the tweeks for some time now. Here’s what you need to do. Print off a basic template, get some colored pencils, be creative, scan them in, and fire ’em off to Phil. If it can work for jimvilk, it can work for anyone. Oh, and use some apple coolguy file extension or the Long Island Philharmonic can’t open it.

DanK|
January 16, 2011 at 11:23 pm |

I would like to see the Chargers go to a Powder blue helmet, with either white or gold pants at home, and powder pants with the white jerseys. I just think when they went to the white helmets a few years back, it was actually a step back from the navy helmets.

chimp|
January 17, 2011 at 1:16 am |

oh my corn. so i left the homestead for an hour, and then came home and turned on the teevee for some background noise, and did you folk realize the all state baratone dude has a show? it is freaking crrrrrrrrazy. apparently, i can’t seem to keep this straight, but there is a “military” unit that roams the country, or a specific military base, i have not figured this out totally, with special phone ear things, and somehow they keep the country safe by talking in short scary sentences and flashing gunsnand totally going freaking nuts. my corn, is this a typical teevee show? i just had a total living in east berlin flashback! i swear this show is nuts! i can’t believe people have not told me about this, the fear is unreal. they have powers, i don’t know where to begin, and the camo guy is that guy from the terminator, the guy who turns to liquid led. holy crap!! whaaat the hell is going on? there is no way this is a show, i think i need to have a paic attack. oh my, there is another episode coming on, it must be a scary marathon. what the heck is this show?!?! i have to go.

Will Morris|
January 17, 2011 at 1:30 am |

So let’s see. Now we want either the Jets or Bears in the Super Bowl, as barring injury, it’ll be the first time in Super Bowl history that a starting quarterback has worn #6. That leaves #1 and #2 to go.